


Classic Doctor Who Whumptober 2019

by Lady_Sci_Fi



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963)
Genre: F/M, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2020-11-10 14:22:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 31
Words: 15,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20853236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Sci_Fi/pseuds/Lady_Sci_Fi
Summary: 31 stories of pain and angst for various Classic Who characters.





	1. Shaky Hands- Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

**Author's Note:**

> Classic Who Whumptober 2018 Collection: archiveofourown.org/works/16235009/chapters/37952189

Now that he was in the privacy of his office, Alistair took off his gloves and held up his hands. He sighed in annoyance as they began shaking again. They had been doing it intermittently for the past couple of hours, since the firefight with the latest group of aliens who had decided to try something nefarious on Earth. At least his hands weren’t in any pain, only discomfort aside from the trembling.

It wasn’t nerves or anxiety, certainly. He’d learned to get over that quickly in his military career. No, this had to be the result of one of the aliens’ firearms hitting his hands somehow. With all the exchanged fire, it would’ve been easy for that to have happened, and with adrenaline, he could’ve not noticed it right away. It hadn’t left a visible mark, but now he knew it had left some sort of damage.

He sat in his desk chair, and watched his hands for a moment longer. He wasn’t going to entertain the possibility that it was actually a result of both things. The fight had been bad, yes. He’d lost a couple of his men, yes. But they’d won in the end. And what was left to do now, the paperwork reporting about it to his superiors, didn’t deserve that kind of anxious reaction. It was a purely physical reaction.

Alistair had reports to fill out and write, but all he could do was stare at his shaking hands. And was it his imagination, or was the tremble getting worse?

No, it definitely was. He clasped his hands together in an attempt to stop it, but then they simply shook together.

Maybe he should see a doctor about it, before it could get any worse. Not the Doctor, since he wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. Not that kind of doctor, he would say if Alistair asked. Although he would probably try anyway. In fact, Alistair knew he would, and he smiled a little at that thought.

Alistair quickly dropped his hands to his lap at the knock on the door. “Come in.”

Benton opened the door and stepped inside. “Is there anything I can do, sir?”

Alistair glanced down at the papers on his desk. Without thinking, he brought his hands up to move the pages aside as he glanced through them. After a moment, he determined, “No, but thank you, Sergeant.”

“Are you alright, sir?” Benton asked.

“Yes, of course I’m-” Then Alistair remembered his trembling hands, and clenched the one not holding a sheet of paper. He sighed, wishing he hadn’t forgotten for that short moment. “I’ll be alright, Benton.”

Benton watched the Brigadier’s hands for a few seconds more, and looked as though he was about to pursue the matter further, but decided against it. “Very well, sir.”

Alistair knew he didn’t have to ask Benton not to mention it to anyone. “Dismissed, Sergeant.” He would get it looked at, if it didn’t stop for good by the end of the day.


	2. Explosion- Ian Chesterton, Susan Foreman

“Get back!” Ian shouted as soon as he realized what was near them. He grabbed Susan’s arm and yanked her away from the device on the wall. They turned to run, but only made it five steps before it went off.

Ian and Susan felt the intense heat at their backs just before the force of it lifted them from the ground and effortlessly tossed them some distance away.

They landed heavily on the ground, Susan on her back and Ian on his shoulder. Susan grimaced and drew in a stuttered breath after a moment, the wind knocked out of her at the impact. She blindly reached out to her side, and her fingers touched the material of Ian’s trousers.

Susan turned over onto her side. “Ian?”

Ian blinked slowly, and squeezed his eyes shut at the pain blossoming not only in his shoulder, but also in pinpricks in his back. “I’m alright, Susan.” His strained voice betrayed to her that he wasn’t perfectly fine. “You?”

“Yeah, think so.” Susan pushed herself up partway to scoot closer to him.

Ian tried to push himself up, but fell back down in disorientation from the explosion leaving a ringing in his head. He clenched a fist at another sharp pinprick in his back. “Think some shrapnel got me.” He gestured behind with his head.

Susan crawled around to check. Small holes were ripped in the back of his shirt. Pieces of shrapnel poked out of the exposed skin, with tiny trails of blood leaking out. “You’re right,” Susan informed. “It doesn’t look that bad,” she quickly assured.

Ian got up into a sitting position, more slowly this time. He gingerly shook his head to try to clear away the ringing. “You didn’t get any in you?”

Susan noticed a spot of blood on her arm, and picked out the small piece of metal. “Just one. It looks like you took the brunt of it. But none of them are very big.”

“Right,” Ian breathed. “Well, see what you can do.”

“The sooner we get you taken care of, the sooner we can continue looking for Grandfather and Barbara?”

“Exactly.” At the first pull of metal shard from his back, Ian’s hands clenched into fists. Perhaps it was a little worse than Susan had let on.


	3. Delirium- Sixth Doctor, Peri Brown

“D-Doctor…?” Peri aimlessly wandered along the Tardis corridors. “I want… want to fly…”

The Doctor hurried out of his bedroom at his friend’s airy calling of his name, and he found her quickly. He gently put his hand on her shoulder from behind to turn her to him. “Peri, what are you doing awake?” The delirious expression on her face worried him.

“I want to fly…”

“Fly?”

Peri swayed to the side as she nodded, and the Timelord tightened his grip enough to stop her from keeling over. “Fly away…”

“Oh, Peri…” the Doctor breathed. It seemed like she was in some sort of waking dream state, related to what had recently happened to her on Varos. He moved in close to her, and looked down with concern written on his face. “We are flying,” he said after a long moment.

“We… we are?” Peri glanced around, her movements somehow seeming delayed. “No sky to fly,” she stated in confusion.

“We're in the grandest sky of all, Peri, just… inside a ship so we don’t asphyxiate to death.”

“Oh… that… that would be bad.”

“Very bad,” the Doctor agreed. He took a moment to think on how to proceed. He could try to put her back to bed, or he could try to alleviate her concerns born from delirium. With such a trauma as what happened on Varos, something like this didn't come completely from nowhere.

The Doctor put his arm around the woman’s shoulders, and slowly walked with her to the console room. “I’m going to show you the sky.”

Peri nuzzled against him contentedly. The Timelord set the Tardis to materialize, and when it did, he opened the doors. Peri’s face lit up at the sight of the colourful nebula outside, and she stepped towards it.

The Doctor kept his arm around her, and walked with her. He made certain she stopped before she could step over the threshold. “See? We’re flying now.”

“Pretty sky,” Peri breathed.

“It is extraordinarily beautiful.” The Doctor rubbed his hand up and down Peri’s upper arm.

“I’m flying… flying away with you… Away from it all.”

The Doctor grimaced at the allusion to Peri’s past. “Yes, we’re flying together. It’s what we do, fly from place to place, stopping to help others and… and do whatever else we want to do.”

“I like that.”

“I’m glad you do.”

A couple minutes later, he took her back to her bedroom, and stayed with her as she slept.

When Peri awakened several hours later, she wasn’t confused by his presence. “I had a… not a dream, but something… about flying.”

“You’re alright?” The Doctor noted her eyes looked more focused, and her movements were normal.

“Yeah… yeah, thanks.”

The Doctor leaned forward to pat her hand. “Anytime.”


	4. Human Shield- Mike Yates/John Benton

“Keep your ears open,” Mike warned as they stepped inside one warehouse of the abandoned complex.

“Yes, sir,” Benton replied. They both drew their guns and aimed them low.

They had been tracking down a man with some sort of strange drug, and who possibly knew where the source was. They had chased him here, and had already called for back-up from HQ before going in to look for him.

Enough sunlight filtered through the windows to make everything visible enough for them to not need torches.

Several minutes later, they both heard a bang, like someone had knocked something heavy over. Mike signaled to Benton to split off and catch the man in a pincer. Benton nodded, and they separated.

Mike reached where the sound had come from first, and saw the heavy toolbox on the floor. He glanced around, and saw a flicker of movement on the catwalk above him, near the stairs. He spotted Benton near another staircase, and pointed up. Benton nodded, and very quietly began ascending.

Mike took a breath, and started going up the stairs close to him.

When he was nearly at the top, without warning, the criminal jumped out from behind a stack of boxes and kicked Mike squarely in the chest. Mike cried out as he toppled backwards, and managed to grab the railing, making him mostly slide and stumble in his fall back down to the ground instead of tumbling.

He still landed hard on the concrete floor, and sucked in a breath at the pain in his lower back. He didn’t get the chance to find his gun, which had fallen from his hands in the fall, before the criminal had descended the stairs and kicked him across the face.

The man bent over to grab Mike by the collar of his jacket and yanked him up to his feet. Mike served a punch across his jaw, but it didn’t seem to have much effect. The man’s eyes flashed purple.

“Stop!” Benton commanded from mid-way down the staircase Mike had fallen down.

The criminal headbutted Mike to stun him. Mike blinked quickly, seeing stars. The other man tightly looped his arm around the soldier’s chest, then turned them to face Benton. He withdrew a large knife from his belt, and waved it in the air for a second so Benton could see. He moved the weapon down, until the point hovered near the side of Mike’s neck.

Benton lowered the end of his gun towards the floor in response, making eye contact with Mike for direction. Mike flashed him a small assuring smile, which quickly turned into a grimace as the knife touched his skin.

“We only want to question you,” Mike said to the criminal.

“Yeah? Well, I don’t feel like being questioned. Now that I’ve got you-” The man let the blade's point dig in a little, though not enough to draw blood. “I’m making the terms.”

“We just want to know about whatever drugs you took,” Benton clarified. He raised his gun a tiny bit, and Mike shortly shook his head at the motion.

Mike considered stomping on the man’s foot or elbowing him in the ribs or anything to get out of the powerful hold, but didn’t want to risk the immediate response being a knife shoved into his neck.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” The man took a step back a few paces, pulling Mike with him. He kept his eyes on Benton. “You just stay where you are.”

Mike winced as the knife punctured his skin, and breathed through his nose at the resulting trickle of blood.

“Sorry, didn’t mean for it to slip,” the criminal said mockingly. He pulled Mike backwards another few steps.

Mike gave a tiny nod to Benton, trusting his partner’s skills, and trusting him with his life. Still, he mouthed, “I love you.”

Benton took a breath, and steeled himself. With Mike and the other man being roughly the same size, there wasn’t any margin for error. Then, he snapped his gun up and took the shot.

Mike flinched at the sound. The man holding him instantly released him with a pained shout. Mike elbowed him in the stomach for good measure before stepping away and turning.

The man clutched at his bleeding shoulder. His eyes flashed purple again, but this time the colour faded out more slowly, and he dropped to the floor. Mike nudged him with his boot, and breathed in relief that he was unconscious.

Benton hurried down the stairs. “I didn’t hit you?”

“No. I wasn’t worried you would.”

Benton let out a long breath. “Don’t make me do that again?”

“I’d rather not be a human shield again.” Mike agreed. He spared a few seconds to rub down the other's arm in affection. Then he refocused. “Right, let’s get him outside.”


	5. Gunpoint- Harry Sullivan

Harry turned the corner around the UNIT truck, and froze at the woman aiming a gun at him. The soldiers with him had gone off a minute ago to search for the crash site in the forest.

“Hello,” Harry greeted. “Are you one of the crash survivors?” Her clothes looked like a flightsuit of some kind. It would make sense if she was afraid after such an event.

She didn’t answer.

“I’m a doctor. I can help you.” He cleared his throat at the lack of response. “I’m not armed, if that’s what you-”

The woman suddenly kicked Harry in the knee, forcing him down to the other one. Harry yelped from the unexpected pain, and quickly found himself shoved backwards against the side of the truck.

“Now look here, ma-” Harry immediately closed his mouth when her gun came into view again, this time aimed at his face. When she didn’t shoot him, he tried, “We don’t need to resort to-” He fell silent again as she made the gun click and pressed it flush against his forehead. She kept pushing until his head was between it and the hard metal of the truck door.

Harry swallowed heavily. He’d already been shot in the head once before, and he had been extremely fortunate it had only grazed his skull instead of penetrating through it. He really didn’t want to experience a direct point-blank shot. If it didn’t kill him, there would certainly be irreversible damage, and…

Harry’s attention returned to the woman at the foreign words that came from her.

“I-I don’t understand,” Harry stated. He couldn’t think properly under the very real threat to even place the language based on the sounds.

The woman stood still, staring at Harry, for a very long minute. Harry, for his part, tried not to look defiant or intimidating in any way. He couldn’t afford to offend her any more than he apparently already had.

“Hands up!” A couple soldiers returned, and the woman looked to them.

“No, no, don’t!” Harry risked calling to them before they could make the situation worse. He slowly raised his hand. “I’m alright. Misunderstanding.”

“You don’t look alright, Sullivan.” The pair of soldiers did lower their weapons at seeing exactly what the predicament was, and wisely didn’t want to endanger the surgeon further with threats.

“Just keep calm, please,” he pleaded. The woman’s steely gaze returned to him, and he winced as the gun pressed against his skin harder. “We don’t want to hurt you.”

She said something to him, and gestured to the soldiers with her free hand. Harry interpreted, “I think she wants you to go away.” He cleared his throat and added, “And tell the others not to come back here yet.”

The soldiers nodded, and cautiously backed away.

Only once they were out of sight, did the woman relax, and finally pull the gun away from Harry. Harry felt his forehead, and sighed at the indent of the barrel in his skin. At least it wasn’t a bullet.

He slowly pushed himself up to stand, and smiled at the woman. She hadn’t put the gun away, but it wasn’t aimed at him any longer, and Harry was going to take that with no complaint. The corner of her mouth even twitched upwards in the start of a returning smile.

“Now, maybe I can help you?”


	6. Dragged Away- Tegan Jovanka/Nyssa

Nyssa pounced forward, landing on her front and desperately reaching for the shouting Tegan. Tegan was on her back, being dragged away, further into the depths of the tunnels, by some… creature. Neither could see any details except for the big dark mass.

Nyssa’s hands found Tegan’s, and they both gripped tightly. Nyssa cried out as she was dragged as well, over the muddy and rocky ground.

Tegan tried kicking out with her free leg, the other one securely in the creature’s mouth. She could feel the teeth digging in through her trousers, but thankfully not too much to hurt or make her bleed or break any bones. Not that she had much hope for that not happening if this went on much further.

“Stop! Please!” Tegan shouted.

It was all Nyssa could do to hold on. She painfully went over a large piece of rock sticking up through the ground, and it scraped through her shirt.

Tegan stopped kicking as they turned a corner and her trapped leg was wrenched hard. “Nyssa!”

“I’m still-” Nyssa shut her mouth as mud entered it. “Here!”

Tegan lifted her head, and saw they were heading further down, and into a place where the lights of the tunnels didn’t reach. “Let go!” Despite her words, Tegan couldn’t get her own hands to do that.

“What? No!”

“Save yourself!” Tegan shut her eyes, and willed one of her hands to open, but Nyssa only tightened her grip on it to compensate. “Nyssa, please!”

“I’m not-” She cried out as they suddenly dropped a few feet, but her grip stayed strong. “Not letting you go!”

“Don’t argue.” Tegan kicked at the creature again, and immediately stopped when it bit down harder. “It’s got me too good!” She tried wrenching her hand from Nyssa’s. It slipped loose for a second, but the other woman didn’t let it out of her grasp.

“I’m staying with-”

Both women yelled as they slid down a steep slope, into pure darkness below.


	7. Isolation- Vicki

Another morning on Dido, another morning waking in the wretched crashed ship. Vicki had lost track of how many days exactly it had been, having been ill for several after the crash.

She felt so isolated. It was just her and Bennett, the only survivor of the ship’s crew and colonists.

She winced at the memory of finding Bennett some distance outside the ship, crippled and ranting about the massacre that he alone had escaped. She thought of her father again, missing him.

Vicki washed her face and dressed, trying to turn her thoughts away from that, it only enhancing her isolation more. It didn’t work, and she didn't want to talk to Bennett. He was ill and needed as much rest as he could get. Besides, he wasn’t the most talkative or friendly of people even before the massacre.

Needing to do something, anything, to distract her from the feeling of depression that came over her, she went outside.

It wouldn’t be so bad, if there was someone, anyone else around. But even the landscape felt isolated, like a desert, with not many animals. No sign of civilization for miles. Not that she would go explore for that, with the one they had found having killed her father, and… Vicki shook her head. She couldn’t think about that. It was just her, Bennett, and… “Sandy?” Vicki called out when she reached the nearby cave.

The large lizard-like creature slowly ambled out, and flicked its tongue toward Vicki. The girl crouched down and petted the animal’s head. Sandy nuzzled up against her hand.

“I’m glad I found you,” Vicki said quietly. “Makes all this… a little more bearable. Were you as lonely as me?”

Vicki left Sandy a little while later to go back to the ship and eat breakfast. The isolation soon enveloped her again.

The isolation finally truly left her when three wonderful people- the Doctor, Ian, and Barbara- arrived and took her away.


	8. Stab Wound- Liz Shaw, Mike Yates

Liz stumbled and slumped back against the nearest tree, clutching at her abdomen. All she could do was stare ahead at the running group of people. Blood leaked from between her fingers as it stained her shirt. One of them had stabbed her at the sound of the UNIT soldiers approaching. It had happened so quickly that she hadn't even seen the knife until the man holding it turned and ran.

The soldiers ran past her in pursuit. Except for two who stopped to check on her. “Miss Shaw!”

“Don’t worry about me, Brigadier,” Liz said, her voice strained. She began to slide down the trunk of the tree. Alistair caught her by the arm, concern very evident on his face. He glanced from Liz’s bloody abdomen to the direction his men had gone.

“I’ll take care of her, sir,” Captain Yates offered.

Alistair considered it for a second, then nodded. His expression to Liz softened, and he allowed himself another second to look at her before he turned to join the pursuit.

Mike held Liz upright against the tree before she could fall down any further. “Come on, Liz, easy does it.”

Liz blinked heavily. Instead of panicking, she tried to diagnose exactly where the wound was and how bad it might be.

“Liz,” Mike prompted. The woman kept staring ahead blankly. “Hey, come on.”

Liz blinked again, and shook her head. “Y-yes?” She tried to push herself forward, and practically fell into Mike’s arms.

“That’s a start,” the captain encouraged.

Liz kept her hand on her abdomen, and the other clutched tightly in Mike’s jacket. “I-I can… can walk.”

“Okay.” Mike took the hand holding onto him and lifted it until her arm was over his shoulders. He apologized as a cry escaped her mouth.

She pitched forward as she attempted a step, and Mike’s arm instantly wrapped around her waist. A low whine pushed through her tightly-closed lips.

Mike saw they weren’t going to get anywhere fast like this, and said, “I’ll carry you.”

Liz was in too much pain to protest, and let him pick her up bridal-style. She whimpered through every motion. Her eyes closed as she settled the side of her head against Mike’s collarbone. She gave up on trying to self-diagnose.

“Don’t go to sleep,” Mike reminded. He took one tentative step, then began to walk faster through the forest.

Mike tried not to jostle her too much, but discomfort was preferred to having her bleed to death in his arms. “Almost there,” he consoled over her little pained cries. He could see the group of trucks through the trees now, and moved faster.

“M-Mike?”

“I’m here, Liz.” Mike nuzzled his chin across the top of her head in emphasis. 

A minute later, he settled her in the passenger seat of one of the trucks, and placed an emergency blanket over her. She held it as tightly as she could to the bleeding wound. He hurried to jump into the driver’s seat and start the vehicle. “The Brigadier wants me to take care of you, and I plan to do just that.”

“G-good…” Liz closed her eyes again. “Don’t tell… tell him you c-carried me?”

Mike couldn’t help the amused smile. He steered them onto the road proper, and headed to the nearest hospital. “If you want.”


	9. Shackled- John Benton

Benton tilted his head to the side again to try to relieve the irritation of his skin under the heavy metal collar around his neck. Of course, there was no escape from it, with it fitting almost snugly. He would’ve tried to put his fingers between it and his neck, but they were shackled to the wall as well, and he couldn’t quite reach up high enough.

He blew out a frustrated breath, hoping that someone would come see him in this cellar turned dungeon. “Anyone there?” he called out in the direction of the door, for the fifth time since he’d awoken.

He did take some comfort that the other two sets of shackles attached to the wall were empty. Only he had been caught. Shot with some sort of tranquilizer dart.

And now here he was, presumably in the clutches of that scientist they were investigating, shackled to a wall like some animal.

Benton lowered his head, wincing at the way the metal dug into his skin and quickly readjusting. His only real hope right now was for someone to rescue him, because he certainly wasn’t able to escape on his own. He’d already pulled at the restraints to test their strength. He was strong, but not that strong.

The chains attached to his wrists rattled as he let his hands drop to the floor. Nothing to do but wait.

A minute later, Benton yelped as the chains suddenly yanked back, and the collar choked him. He found himself with his back flush against the wall, the chains having no leeway. He instinctively tried to get out of it, but his hands couldn’t move, either.

Then the door opened to reveal a man, with a face Benton recognized from recent photos. The man greeted, “Ah, you’re awake. One of those army dogs that’ve been after me. I do have you on rather a tight leash right now, don’t I?” He chuckled at the sergeant’s uncomfortable predicament.

“You are Mr Whitman?” Benton asked.

Instead of answering, Whitman looked Benton over thoroughly. “You’ll do very nicely, I think.”

“Do nicely? For what? If you mean some sort of experiment-”

“Oh yes, I got things in mind for you. Now, be a good boy and stay until I come back.”

Benton bristled at the taunt. As soon as the scientist left, the chains loosened again, allowing his body to relax. He pulled on them again, this attempt just as useless as before. Quietly, he said, “Get me out of here before… before he does whatever he’s got planned.”


	10. Unconscious- Fourth Doctor/Sarah

“Doctor. Doctor, come on.” Sarah tapped her fingers to the Timelord’s face. “This isn't the time to take a nap.”

It certainly wasn’t, not with the strange smell in the air and blue-coloured gas around them. The Doctor had simply just fallen down when the gas had appeared around their feet in the swampy terrain. There had been very little warning from him, only a startled, “Sarah, I-” before he had lost consciousness. Sarah didn’t feel any effects.

“You have got to be joking,” Sarah said to herself as it became obvious he wasn’t going to wake up now. “Of course it would affect you.” She shook his shoulder. “Doctor, please.”

She glanced around for something to help them. But no, they were out here by themselves. She stood up fully to try to see if the gas ended anywhere within her line of sight. She should try to get him out of it. She saw what looked like the end of it some distance away.

“Right.” Sarah positioned herself at the Doctor’s head. “Looks like I’ll have to drag you. This really couldn't be the other way around, could it? Then you could easily carry me to safety.” She bent down to grab him under his upper arms. “Not that I’d like it being unconscious, but it would be more convenient for us both.”

Sarah took a deep breath, then pulled backwards. She stopped about a meter later, already out of breath from that short distance. “Why do you have to be so much bigger than me?” How was she going to make it to the clear area before she ran out of energy?

“One step at a time,” she said to herself, ready to move again.

Partway through the journey, the Doctor’s scarf snagged on a splintered tree root sticking up from the ground and stopped their progress as it pulled taut. Sarah groaned, and set the man down again to undo it. “And why do you have to wear this thing everywhere?” She bunched it up and placed it on his chest to prevent that from happening again.

Finally, she dragged him out of the gas. She sat on the ground next to him and waited, staring at him. Thankfully, he awakened only a few minutes later.

“Enjoy your nap?” Sarah asked after he blinked a few times.

“Nap?” The Doctor sat upright and looked around. “We weren’t over here.”

“I know. I dragged you here after you passed out.”

His eyes widened. “You did? I did?”

“Yes, Doctor.”

“Oh… Well, let’s get going, shall we?”

Sarah took his hand, and they stood together. Sarah cleared her throat, and said, “I think you owe me.” She gestured for him to turn around. He understood, and bent down to let her get on his back.

Once settled, piggy-back style, Sarah suggested, “Let’s avoid the gas this time.”


	11. Stitches- Fourth Doctor/Sarah

“Stay still,” Sarah admonished for the fifth time. It was difficult enough sewing up the open wound on the back of the Doctor’s shoulder without him squirming. Several seconds later, she stopped and sighed at him again. “Am I doing something wrong?”

“No,” the Doctor replied honestly.

“Then stay still.”

At the next puncture of the needle through his skin, he hissed through it, already having clenched his fists.

“Where’s Harry when you need him, huh?” Sarah joked, pulling the thread through.

“He may be more qualified, but I think I prefer you doing this.”

“Thanks… I think.” Sarah stopped for a moment to look at something else. “Maybe if you’d be more careful…”

“I didn’t decide to throw myself down a pit lined with spiky vines,” the Doctor countered.

Sarah’s gaze fell upon the stitched wound on the Doctor’s forearm. It was one he’d done himself, along with the one on his thigh. Unfortunately, the remaining three were in unreachable spots and required Sarah’s help. Really, he was fortunate his face only had a minor scratch that didn’t even need a small bandage.

Sarah added another stitch to the line. “Just about done with this one.”

The Doctor managed to stay still long enough for her to finish it. Then he exhaled hard in annoyance at the situation.

“Don’t huff at me,” Sarah chided.

“I’m not,” the Timelord assured. “Are stitches truly necessary for the remaining two?”

Sarah prepared to move on to the next large cut, on the back of the man’s upper arm. “Yes. No argument. I’m doing them.”

“I’m not com-” He flinched as the needle went through his skin again. “Complaining.”

“Good. We don’t need to prove that doctors make bad patients.”

Once the needle was out, the Doctor turned to glare in response to the joke. Sarah retorted with a simple smile. Then she advised, “Stay still, or I might stick you on purpose.”

“You wouldn’t,” the Doctor countered.

“Do you want to find out?”

The Doctor turned back around, and slowly exhaled, willing himself to stay as still as possible.


	12. “Don’t Move”- Second Doctor/Jamie

“Doctor, wait!” Jamie suddenly called out. “Don’t move!”

The Doctor stopped, and turned to look at Jamie behind him. “What is it?”

“Something lit up under your feet.” Jamie pointed to the ground.

The Doctor looked down, and through the blades of grass did indeed see lights. It was a circle of small red lights around a dull grey disc larger than his foot, which was almost precisely in the middle of it. “Oh… oh dear…”

“What is it?” Jamie asked, immediately knowing that tone and the way the Doctor’s body stiffened wasn’t good.

“Well, Jamie, uh… it’s a landmine.”

“A what?”

“An explosive that goes off at change of pressure. Since I’m standing on it, it means a negative pressure.”

Jamie’s eyes widened. “It’ll explode?”

“When I remove my foot, yes.”

“Don’t move your foot.” Jamie carefully stepped around the Timelord to get a better handle on the situation.

“Yes, Jamie,” the Doctor sighed. “I would rather not be blown to pieces.”

Jamie crouched down to get a closer look at the landmine. “How do these things work?”

“Step on it, lift foot, then boom.”

“I’m being serious, Doctor.”

“So am I, Jamie. Very very serious.”

“You’re not being helpful.” Jamie rolled his eyes. Couldn’t the man act a little more concerned about this? “What about a way to turn it off?”

“If it could be turned off on a whim, it would rather defeat the purpose.” The Doctor’s fingers fidgeted together. “Nasty little things, these.”

“Can we destroy it?”

“Oh, yes, if you want to destroy both of us in the process.”

Jamie sighed through his annoyance. Still, he knew the Timelord was anxious about the possibility of them both dying here.

“Find something heavy,” the Doctor finally suggested. “A large rock, perhaps. There should be some of those around here.”

“Right.” Jamie shot up, glad to have something concrete to do to help. “Don’t you move.”

“I wasn’t going to,” the Doctor called at as the younger man hurried away.

Jamie returned a couple minutes later with two good-sized rocks that would be heavy enough together. The Doctor instructed, “Place them on both sides of my foot to make the pressure even enough.” After Jamie did so, the Timelord said, “Now move away.”

“No, I’m staying right here until you’re safe.”

The Doctor knew it would be fruitless to argue. Jamie would stay with him no matter the risk to himself. “Right then.” He mentally prepared to step off the mine, hoping the rocks would be enough for both their sakes.

Jamie took the Doctor’s hands, an extremely familiar motion, and looked him in the eye. Without breaking the physical or visual contact, the Doctor slowly lifted his foot. He tentatively moved it to the side of the mine, and stepped down on ground.

Both men let out a long breath they hadn’t realized they were holding. “Come along, Jamie.”

Once a safe distance away, the Doctor remarked, “See? Nothing to worry about.”

“Oh, sure,” Jamie replied with more than a touch of sarcasm.


	13. Adrenaline- Seventh Doctor, Ace McShane

They ran, adrenaline spurring them to go faster, as fast as their bodies would allow. The landslide behind them kept roaring forward, the intense noises and vibrations not letting up for a second.

Ace stumbled, and the Doctor’s grip on her hand tightened. Their feet on the decline slid in a long patch of mud, and they windmilled their other arms to stay upright.

The Doctor glanced around. They couldn't run to the side of the landslide and make it, since they were too close to the center. For now, they just had to keep running, and hope they could outlast it.

“Doctor!” Ace cried in panic. She had briefly turned her head back to see the approaching mass of mud and trees and rocks bearing down on them.

“I know! Keep running!” Then the Doctor stumbled, and they both fell down.

They rolled several times before coming to a stop in a heap together. Adrenaline forced them to quickly scramble back up to their feet, stumbling and tripping. They skid down more of the slope before getting stable enough to properly run again.

They could now see the bottom of the slope, and a group of large boulders near where it transitioned to flat land. “Over there!” the Doctor prompted.

“Got it.”

Ace somehow found more energy to spur herself on for a final sprint, despite her lungs heaving for breath and the muscles in her legs burning from the effort.

The Doctor reached the boulders a second before Ace, and yanked her behind the largest one. They huddled together, the Timelord’s arms firmly around the girl and his face pressed to the top of her head.

The landslide flowed around them, the mud and debris dirtying their bottom halves. Some came over the top of the boulder.

All they could do was sit there and ride it out.


	14. Tear-stained- Jamie McCrimmon, Victoria Waterfield

Jamie hugged Victoria close as she cried on his shoulder. He didn’t ask what was upsetting her. He didn’t need to. It was still soon enough after she had joined them for him to know what it was. So he simply held her, not caring how her tears dampened his turtleneck jumper.

“I’m sorry, Jamie…”

“Hey, no need to be sorry.” He cleared his throat. “Losing… losing someone you love like that… There’s no shame in crying. And you’re always welcome to use me for it.”

Victoria sniffled. “Thanks.” She inhaled a shaky breath. “I lost Mother a while ago, and now Father… All because of those Daleks, and- and…” She broke off into another sob.

“You’re not alone,” Jamie reminded. “You’ve got me and the Doctor. We’ll always do our best to help you.”

Victoria lifted her head enough to give a watery smile of appreciation. Then her face fell again. “I miss him, miss both of them so much. You’re great. You and the Doctor, but all… a lot happened so quickly…” She dropped her head again, and her next words came out slightly muffled. “So much to take in, and I… I don't think I’ve… I’ve processed it all yet.”

“That’s alright,” Jamie assured. “Take as much time as you need. We’ll be here for you, no matter what.”

“You mean that? Truly?” She looked up to him again, tears still spilling from her eyes.

“Of course I do, and the Doctor would say the same if you asked him.” He hugged her tighter. “Always.”

Victoria nodded, and wiped at her eyes. She lowered her head to Jamie’s shoulder again. She gradually stopped crying, and the pair settled more comfortably together, with Jamie cradling her in his lap.

Victoria’s tears stained Jamie’s jumper for a short while after the finally separated.


	15. Scars- Mike Yates/John Benton

Benton’s finger trailed across Mike’s leanly-muscled chest, and stopped at the dark jagged line of the three-inch long scar over his heart. It was new, only a couple months old, and Benton had a similar smaller one in almost the same spot. Remnants of that Metabilis spider business.

Mike awakened at the touch, and stretched his legs out. “Morning,” he greeted sleepily, without opening his eyes.

Benton withdrew his hand from the other man’s chest and moved up slightly to kiss him. Mike only opened his eyes when Benton pulled away to breathe. He half-smiled and asked, “Admiring it?”

“I wouldn’t say admiring,” Benton replied. His gaze went down to Mike’s chest again.

“I’m teasing, love.” Mike propped himself up on his elbows and playfully nipped at Benton’s bottom lip. He pulled away at the thoughtful expression on his partner’s face. “Something wrong?”

“Not really,” Benton breathed. “Just… occasionally I see it and I think about how… how I almost lost you before I could’ve come back to you.”

Mike gave a soft smile. “Well, whatever miracle… my compassion, Cho-Je said… allowed me to survive it, I’m still here, and so are you.” He laid his hand over the similar scar on the other man’s chest.

They didn’t hurt. The residual pain from the lightning strike to Benton had stopped after a day, while Mike’s, with a much more powerful and concentrated blast, had dissipated after three.

Benton nodded, and nuzzled his nose to Mike’s cheek.

But really, it was the invisible scars that were more troublesome. The mental ones the former captain suffered. Between what had been done to him at Global Chemicals and then by Operation Golden Age while he had been on medical leave… Mike was still recovering, and they both knew it would leave some damage, some scars that no one could see.

It did show, in subtle ways to someone who knew Mike as well as Benton did. He’d become a little more... quietly unsure of himself, and Benton wondered how he had been directly after they had stopped Golden Age. Benton leaving him that same night would’ve only made it worse, only would’ve made those already deep cuts even deeper.

“I’m sorry,” Benton whispered.

Mike didn't need to ask what the apology was for. He’d heard it numerous times the past couple months. “It’s alright,” he softly responded. “I was alright.”

Benton’s fingers stroked through the long hair at the side of Mike’s head. How lost had he been? Yes, he’d befriended Sarah Jane Smith soon after, something that Benton would forever be grateful to her for. But Mike had felt the need to try meditation several months after. He said it was helping. Benton didn’t quite understand it himself, but if it was aiding in fading those mental scars, he was grateful for it, too.

He wondered- and he knew Mike had thought about this too- how long, if ever, would it take for those invisible scars to fade away completely and become a thing of the past. A year, five, ten?

Mike lightly joked, “Are you admiring my hair?”

Benton’s hand in the other’s hair stopped moving. “Perhaps.”

Mike shook his head and laid back down so his hair fanned out on the pillow. He stared up to the other man’s amused expression.

“Now that’s hardly fair,” Benton chided. Then he moved down to kiss him. “You beautiful man,” he whispered before their lips met.

Benton meant it, no matter whatever physical or mental scars Mike had.


	16. Pinned Down- Second Doctor

“Jamie!” the Doctor cried out soon after awakening. “Jamie!” He looked down to his predicament. He was pinned down to the ground, his legs under a large slab of rock. He didn’t know how he had gotten here, but it had to be purposeful. The slab wasn’t crushing his legs, but it was still painful enough.

Someone had put him out here, and trapped him under the rock. For what purpose, he couldn’t guess.

“Jamie!” he tried again. He positioned his hands under the lip of the slab, and pushed up, but it barely moved. And the tiny amount it did put more pressure on his legs, dissuading him from moving it again that way.

“Oh dear, oh dear....” He laid back down and stared up at the darkening sky for a moment. Then he glanced around. He looked to be in some sort of small clearing. He tried to look directly behind him, but couldn't quite maneuver it. All he managed to see was part of a rock face.

Why had he been placed, trapped, and left here? Where was Jamie? He’d been with him the last thing he remembered. Was Jamie in a similar situation? “Jamie?” The Doctor sighed at the continued lack of answer. His fingers fretted in his jacket. “Anyone?”

The Doctor tried pushing up on the slab a different way, and still couldn't manage to make any non-painful progress. He slumped back down again and shouted, “Anyone? Whoever put me here?” He winced as an attempt to slide his leg out resulted in the rock scraping across his knee badly.

“I’m sure this is all a misunderstanding. There’s no need for any of this,” he tried. “Why did you put me here? And where’s Jamie? The young man who was with me?” He didn’t expect an answer, but still felt disappointed when he didn’t get any. He grumbled under his breath.

He didn’t like Jamie not being here, even though if he was, he would’ve been trapped just like him. But at least they would’ve been able to figure something out together, like they always did.

The Doctor’s thoughts were interrupted by several low growls. He startled upright and twisted around. Now he better saw what was behind him. It was a cave, and four large wolf-like animals were emerging from it.

“Oh… oh no…” His eyes widened as he realized, “I’ve been offered as your dinner.”

The largest of the animals bounded over to him, and forced him back down with heavy paws on his shoulders. The Timelord winced as claws dug in, pinning him to the ground completely. He stared up into the dark eyes, and flinched at the thick drip of saliva on his cheek from the open, sharp-toothed mouth.

“Don’t eat me?” he pleaded. The animal’s expression didn’t change.


	17. “Stay With Me”- Ian Chesterton/Barbara Wright

“Come on, Barbara. Stay with me,” Ian encouraged, cradling her tightly against his chest as he carried her. It was so cold. He could feel her fading from that and what he assumed was a head injury. The blood freezing in her hair definitely wasn’t a good sign.

“...m trying…”

Ian could barely hear her. “Keep holding on, alright. We’ll get… get somewhere soon.” His fingers dug into the material of Barbara’s jumper, searching for any further morsel of warmth they could get. He could feel the tips starting to go numb. A stray thought had him wonder how long until frostbite would set in.

“L-Liar…” Barbara retorted with a chatter of her teeth.

Ian couldn’t help the tiny smile at the tease. “Give me a chance to prove you wrong.”

“Al… alright,” Barbara agreed.

“That’s the spirit.” Ian’s legs were so tired, all their strength sapped by the biting chill. His feet dragged through the long frosted grass. He wanted to stop, just a short rest. But he knew he couldn’t. The moment he sat down, he wouldn’t be able to get back up again.

No, he had to keep going, for both their sakes. There was bound to be something that could shield them and give them a chance to recover.

“T-Talk to me,” Ian prompted, and bit his lip to stop his teeth chattering more. He felt the tiny shake of her head against his chest. “I’ll take that to mean you’re… you’re too tired.” A tiny nod happened in reply.

Left, right, left, right… He had to keep his feet moving no matter what. He stumbled several times, but thankfully didn’t fall. He doubted he could’ve gotten up, and would’ve instead instinctively curled up around Barbara in desperate search for warmth. But that would’ve only been a short term solution. A very short term non-solution. They’d both more than probably freeze to death.

“I-Ian…?” Her fist briefly tightened in his shirt. “Love you…”

Ian pressed a kiss to the stop of her head. “Stay with me, Barbara.”

“I-If you… you st-stay with me…”


	18. Muffled Scream- Fifth Doctor, Tegan/Nyssa

Nyssa awakened in a panic, and opened her eyes. But everything was still dark. Why was it all dark? She flung her arm out, feeling something heavy around the wrist, and flinched as her hand made contact with something else. Something that felt warm and like a person. “Tegan? Doctor?” she guessed. 

Her voice sounded muffled, which unnerved her, and then she realized there was something over her head. She could now see tiny pinpricks of dim light through the cloth material.

“Nyssa?” replied the voice beside her. It was Tegan, but Nyssa, despite their physical closeness, could barely hear her.

“Tegan? Oh thank goodness.”

“I can barely hear you,” Tegan responded in a louder voice. “There’s something… but I can't get it off my head.”

“Me too. I think it’s a hood or bag, maybe.”

“Oh, just great,” Tegan muttered. Then she shouted out, “Doctor?”

“Tegan? Nyssa?” Where were they? Hopefully somewhere in this maze-like structure. After he found them, the Doctor would certainly have several words with whoever had done this. “Where are you?” he shouted. He had no idea how large an area he had to cover. “Good thing I’m rather good at mazes,” he remarked after standing in one spot to determine which way to try next. “Nyssa? Tegan?”

Tegan flinched as something began to crawl up her arm. Whatever it was was long and leafy. A vine? “Nyssa? Nyssa!”

Nyssa had frozen as a vine also began to crawl up her arm. “Tegan, something’s got my arm!” She blindly grabbed beside her for the other woman’s hand.

Tegan responded in kind, and they gripped each other’s fingers tightly as another vine wrapped around their legs.

“Doctor!” they screamed out. “Doctor!” But their screams sounded muffled even to their own ears, the sound being absorbed by the cloth around their heads and faces. More vines quickly joined in, and they kept screaming for help. they did so, despite knowing the probability of anyone hearing them was low.

The Doctor stopped at what sounded like very quiet screaming. “Tegan? Nyssa?” He quickly turned in a circle, and determined it was coming from the other side of one of the maze walls. How long had they been screaming for? If only he’d been able to hear them sooner…

“I’m coming! I’m coming!” the Timelord shouted in that direction. His heartsbeat quickened as he desperately searched for a way over to his friends. “Hold on, you two…”


	19. Asphyxiation- Mike Yates

Mike protested and tried to wriggle out of the strong grip of the two men who held his arms behind his back. But there was no denying he was well and truly caught, especially with the other five in the group of criminals surrounding him.

One of them, Mike assumed to be the leader, came up to him and punched him across the face. Mike’s head snapped to the side, and he opened his mouth at the stinging pain in his jaw. “No need for that,” he responded with a grimace.

“Oh, you think so? Doesn’t matter what you think, army-boy.” The leader backhanded the captain. Then he glanced around, and grinned at the nearby pond. He turned back to Mike. “In fact, I want some answers.”

“Answers? About what?” Mike challenged.

The criminal pushed Mike, and the other two holding him, backwards to a tree. The other two took the cue to hold him against the trunk, outstretching his arms and bending them back painfully.

“If you think I-” Mike started. But he was cut off by the leader’s hands wrapping around his throat. He got a quick small gulp of air in before those hands squeezed, using the tree to push him against for extra pressure.

Mike kicked out, but between the increased squeezing on his neck and strain on his shoulders as response, he quickly stopped. Spots appeared at the edge of his vision, and he blinked heavily in a vain attempt to make them go away.

Thankfully, the man let go a moment later. Mike breathed quickly and deeply. He wanted to rub at his neck, but his arms were still stretched back. He settled for clearing his throat.

“That’s your one chance before this gets any worse,” the criminal stated. “Now, who’s after us? How many of you? How’d you track us?”

“I’m investigating on my own,” Mike lied.

The criminal snorted. “You army boys don’t do anything without licking your superior’s boots about it first.” He seized the front of the captain’s uniform jacket and yanked him forward. “Alright, the hard way it is.”

Mike tripped over a tree root as he was simultaneously pushed and pulled to the pond. He had forgotten about that, and had an idea where this was going. He dug his heels into the dirt and tried to push or fall back.

His boots still splashed into the water despite his efforts. Then the two men behind him shoved him, and the leader yanked him again, forcing him to fall forward. He caught himself on his hands, which slipped in the mud under the water.

The leader seized the back of Mike’s jacket to drag him further in. Mike tried to pull back, which resulted in a wet shoe coming up to kick him squarely in the stomach. A second one to his chest winded any more immediate fight out of him.

“You wanted it this way,” the leader reminded, stopping when the water lapped just below his knees.

Before Mike could wriggle away, the leader grabbed his hair with his free hand and quickly shoved his head down. He barely managed to close his mouth in time, but the shock of the cold water forced the air from his lungs through his nose.

He thrashed, trying to push back up and wrench himself from the strong grasp. But the other man’s strength was too much for him to overcome. He barely registered the man straddling his back for better leverage.

All he could see as he lost oxygen was the darkness of the water, the air bubbles from his nose, and the grey spots. His hands sunk in the mud, as he tried to find something to help him get his face above the surface.

His vision had nearly greyed out when he was yanked above the water. He gratefully opened his mouth to breathe in the fresh air. He shivered and shook his head.

“Now, let’s try again.” The leader gripped Mike’s hair tighter and twisted his neck sideways. “How many of there are you looking for us? What tipped you off?”

Mike refused to answer. A few seconds later, his head was again shoved down and completely submerged. While he was more mentally prepared for it this time, he was still exhausted from the first, and he ran out of air faster. His fighting back slowed.

He couldn’t tell if the time under was longer or shorter than before, but he breathed in just as desperately as he was pulled back up.

“Feel like talking yet?” At the lack of answer, the criminal had one of his friends kick Mike in the stomach. Then he quickly flipped the captain over onto his back and straddled his waist.

Mike didn’t have a chance to breathe in in preparation before the man’s hands latched around his neck and shoved him down under the water again. 

He kicked and flailed his arms, anything to fight back against the strangling and drowning. But his limbs’ movements quickly became weak and sluggish as he began to lose the fight to stay conscious.


	20. Trembling- First Doctor

The Doctor’s hands trembled as he made the Tardis doors close, as he told his granddaughter goodbye through the viewing monitor, and as he forced the ship to take off from the ravaged London he had left her in. It was as though they were protesting what he was doing, no matter how he rationalized it, no matter how much he said it was for her good.

As the Tardis dematerialized, his hands clutched onto the lapels of his jacket. The eyes of Ian and Barbara were on him, but he didn’t look to them. He couldn’t, not yet. They would be scrutinizing him, judging him. They had grown close to Susan, too, and he really didn’t want to know their thoughts on the matter at this moment. They hadn’t tried to stop him, which must’ve meant some positive feeling, or it could simply be fear that they could be next, dropped off on some hostile place they didn’t know, to eke out a living to their best ability.

A shudder went down his spine at the sudden realization that he might not hear Susan call out for him again, especially not with his lack of control over the Tardis. He might not ever feel her tightly embrace him. Might never hold her and comfort her through whatever fearful thing they encountered.

They’d always been so close, and when he’d taken her away from Gallifrey on the stolen Tardis… 

He let go of his jacket to press down on the controls to take him back to her. But he stopped himself, his hands trembling just above them.

No, this was for their own good. Both of theirs. She needed to live a life of her own, instead of always looking after him. And he… well, he couldn’t keep dragging her along into the trouble he inevitably kept finding himself in while he travelled willy-nilly through time and space, with no real destination in mind.

He would always love her. Of course he would. Nothing would ever stop that.

“Doctor?” Barbara said very quietly.

The Doctor clenched his hands into fists and withdrew them from the console. “Yes?” He stared at the ascending and descending central column.

“She’ll… she’ll be alright,” the woman assured.

Ian added, “She’s strong, capable, resourceful… She’ll do alright for herself. Her and David.”

It was obvious the pair was saying this for their benefit as well as the Doctor’s, but the Timelord accepted it. He sighed, and finally turned away from the console, to the inner door. “You’re right, Barbara, Chesterton,” he replied in a quiet tone. “I’ll be…” He couldn’t say anything more, emotion choking in his throat. He shoved his trembling hands into his pockets and went to his bedroom.


	21. Laced Drink- Ace

Ace sighed in disappointment as the Doctor left the pub. He had told her to stay here, while he went off to investigate something on his own. “Typical, drop me off somewhere to keep me safe while he has all the fun,” she muttered.

There was absolutely no chance she was going to wait for him to come back after he solved whatever he’d gone off to do. But first, this was a nice pub, and she was feeling a bit peckish. She did have some money, and went up to the bar.

Ace didn’t even attempt to order anything alcoholic, knowing she looked her age. She asked for a simple meal in addition to the soda. As the bartender poured her drink, Ace glanced around, getting a better feel for the place. They were in the future, about fifty years or so from her time, but it still felt normal to her.

“Here you go.”

Ace turned back, and smiled her thanks at the man. She raised her glass in a little toast to him as well, before bringing it to her mouth.

“Your food should be ready in about ten minutes.”

Ace nodded, and put her drink down on the counter. It tasted like she expected, which was quite good.

After a minute or so, Ace suddenly began to feel strange. Her mind began to feel… fuzzy, and her vision blurred slightly at the edges. She raised her finger to summon the bartender, and asked, “This isn’t alco… alcoholic, is it?”

“Not a drop.”

“Oh, okay.” She wasn’t quite sure how to react. Maybe the people of this time used something to add an alcoholic effect without the actual stuff itself? “Professor’s not going to be pleased,” she murmured with a little giggle.

The blurring in her vision started to turn grey, and her movements felt oddly disconnected, like there was a delay between her brain and muscles. “Something wrong…” Her voice came out quieter than she’d intended, and was the slurring her imagination?

She moved to get off the stool, but only wound up tripping over her own feet once they touched the floor. She stumbled sideways against the counter, and the woman near her remarked, “Bit of a lightweight, are you?”

Ace stared at the glass of soda, trying to discern its mysteries. But she couldn’t quite think now. She flinched as someone touched her from the side, and she gave a loopy smile at the bartender’s friendly face.

“I think you need a bit of a lie-down. Come with me.”

“Sounds great, I think…” Ace’s words were definitely slurred now. She blinked heavily as the man lead her to a back room.

He set her swaying body down on a sofa. “Just you rest. I’ll look after you.”

“M… kay…” Ace keeled over onto her side. Just before her eyes closed, she saw the bartender pull out a small phone from his pocket. She heard, and his voice somehow sounded like it was muffled, “I’ve got her…. Yeah, I know it’s her. He came in with her.” Then she lost all awareness.


	22. Hallucination- Jo Grant, Third Doctor

Jo cried out in terror at the hulking monster, who snarled and gnashed its long fangs as it barreled towards her. She turned to run, but slipped on the uneven and unstable marshy ground. “Doctor! Doctor!” But he wasn’t beside her, not anymore. Where had he gone?

Jo scrambled back to her feet, slipping again in the mud. She blindly reached out to prevent herself from falling again, and her wet hand came upon a tree trunk. The roar of the creature behind her spurred her to go faster. “Doctor!”

Where had the giant creature come from? One moment, the two of them were walking through the marsh, the next, this thing burst out from the fog and the Doctor disappeared. The sky had changed colour, too, from purple to green.

There! The Tardis was up ahead. Maybe the Doctor had somehow reached it already. But then why was the door still closed? Then she heard that unmistakable sound, and she pushed herself to run even faster. “Doctor?” But the Tardis was disappearing before her eyes. “No! No, Doctor! I’m here! I’m out here!”

But the time-space ship continued to fade away, until she had just reached it and there was nothing left. She stopped, and stared at where it had been. “Come back! Doctor, please!”

She spun round at another roar. The monster was still coming, and she was in the open and had nothing to defend herself with. The Doctor was gone, left her here in this place to be torn apart by some alien beast. Surely it had been a mistake and he hadn’t meant to, right?

She turned back to the empty spot where the Tardis had been. “Come on, Doctor, please… please…”

A shriek came from her mouth, as something grabbed her from behind. Her eyes closed, and she blindly lashed out in a panic.

“Jo, Jo, it’s me.”

“No, it’s not! It’s a trick! You left!”

The arms tightened further around her. “I’m right here.”

Jo opened her eyes, and they widened at the sight of the Timelord, and the animal still coming at them. “Doctor, it’s still coming at us, and the Tardis is gone!”

“Oh, I see.” The Doctor quickly thought through what might’ve happened. “The Tardis is right here. Right where we left it a few minutes ago.”

“But I don’t- then let’s go, before that thing-”

“There’s nothing there.” The Doctor kept his firm hold on her as she tried to run again. “Listen to me. There is nothing there. It’s just us and the Tardis.”

“But, Doctor-”

“Close your eyes and listen to me. There’s nothing trying to hurt us.”

Jo did so, and took several deep breaths. Once she’d forced herself to calm down, she opened them again, and leaned back to get a better view of the man. He was just as muddy as her. There was no monster behind him anymore. She turned her head to where the Tardis had been, and smiled to see that it was still there.

“Better? You gave me quite a fright, running off and shouting like that.”

“Yeah… yeah, I think so…” Jo shook her head. “What happened?”

“I believe this marsh fog has some sort of hallucinatory properties. It didn’t affect me, of course, but based on your reaction, I think that’s a good hypothesis.”

“Oh, so it’s all my head, then?”

“Fortunately for us, wouldn't you say?” He put his arm over her shoulders and drew her in close. They continued on their way, this time avoiding the larger clouds.


	23. Bleeding Out- Eighth Doctor

The Doctor stumbled forward out the door of the warehouse, his hands tightly clutching just below his ribcage. Blood leaked from between his fingers, staining them and his shirt and vest crimson. He shivered, and tripped into a wall.

He turned to his side to more comfortably lean, and he moved his hands to see the bullet wound. He almost immediately closed his eyes and covered it back up at the sight. “Not good…” he determined in a staggered exhale. He had to find help.

The Doctor pushed himself upright enough to continue walking, using one hand to steady himself along the wall, leaving red smears on the white brick surface.

Being shot was what had led to his previous death, and he really didn’t want a repeat. Besides, he hadn’t lived long enough in this body to be accepting of that fate.

He turned the corner, and swayed away from it, losing contact with the wall. He overbalanced, and fought the lure of gravity to stay upright. But he was weakening. There was no mistaking that feeling of losing precious life’s blood. He’d certainly lost enough over his lifetimes to know.

He ended up stumbling sideways across the pathway, and hit another wall shoulder-first. “Help!” he called out. He wished Grace was with him, that she had accepted his offer. Even if she couldn’t have helped him, he would’ve had company until someone could help… “Anyone?”

His legs stopped moving forward, and he turned so his back was against the wall. He slumped over, his knees trembling with the effort to keep him standing. He switched hands covering the wound. The bloodier one came up to push his long hair back out of his face, leaving a red streak along his cheekbone and a shiny wetness in the hair.

His legs lost the battle, and he slid down the wall to sit. He hunched over completely, until his head touched his knees. “Someone help me…” he muttered. He pressed down harder on the wound. He had to keep pressure on it. It hurt so much, every movement he made. He needed to stay still to stop the pain from spiking, but he needed to get up, keep moving until he found help.

He keeled over onto his side, his body starting to severely shiver. All he could do was lie there, and watch his blood spill out onto the paved light-coloured stone beneath him.


	24. Secret Injury- Fourth Doctor/Sarah

Sarah sucked in a sharp breath as her foot came down to the ground. She had twisted her knee earlier, but now it really began to hurt. She’d been hiding it for the past couple hours. She couldn’t worry about it now, and she didn’t want the Doctor to worry about it now, either, when neither of them could do anything about it. They didn’t really have the time.

“Sarah?” The Doctor turned away from the console he was working on to her.

“I’m fine, keep working.”

The Doctor raised a brow at her, and his eyes flickered down her body, but did as she said.

As they continued to work through the urgent situation with the crew of the ocean liner, Sarah focused on walking and moving as normally as she could. The situation was too dire to stop. She didn’t know if he suspected something was wrong with her or not, but if he did, he didn’t let on.

It was difficult for Sarah to keep the pain off her face, but a lot of lives depended on her not slowing them down. Her needs could wait, no matter how much it hurt. Whatever the damage was, she didn’t doubt it would be fixable later.

Then, finally, several hours later, the crisis was averted. Sarah warmly smiled in the direction of the Timelord some distance away, talking to a group of the crew. Then she turned to the nearest medic, and quietly asked, “Do you think you could check over my leg?”

The medic nodded, and they slipped away to the infirmary. Once settled on an exam table, Sarah pulled up her right trouser leg.

Several minutes after, as the medic was wrapping a bandage around Sarah’s knee, the Doctor came in. “Ah, this is where you went off to. Are you alright?”

Sarah sighed softly. “I was kind of hoping you wouldn’t find me until after I’d been taken care of.”

The Doctor went to stand next to her. “Keeping an injury secret from me?”

Sarah shook her head. “I just didn’t want you to worry, is all.”

The Timelord took her hand. “I suppose you did a good enough job hiding it from me. Just don’t make a habit of it.” He looked to the medic. “She’ll be alright?”

“If she takes it easy for a little while,” the medic stated.

“I think we deserve that after today.” The Doctor sighed, and admitted, “Since we’re here, perhaps you could take a look at my shoulder? I think it got badly wrenched while I was in the engine room.”

The medic nodded, and finished up with Sarah.

“Engine room? But that was hours ago,” Sarah stated. Then she shook her head. “Oh, you… Fair, I suppose.”

“I didn’t have time to deal with it. And…” The Doctor gave a small apologetic smile. “I didn’t want to worry you.”


	25. Humiliation- Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

“Up. Wake up, Brigadier,” Alistair heard through sleep-muffled hearing. He solidly felt the poking at his side, and his eyes shot open.

The Master withdrew his foot from the other man’s immediate vicinity, and smiled. “There you are.”

Alistair immediately pushed himself up to his feet. “You!” His hand clenched into a fist at his side.

The Master took two cautionary steps back, out of the way of any potential fists. He held up his empty hands. “Now, now, no need to resort to immediate violence.”

“You want to talk? Then start talking.” Alistair glanced around. It looked like he was in some sort of storage warehouse. “Is this where you’ve been hiding?”

The Timelord looked offended. “Hiding? I’ve been much more productive than merely hiding.”

“Why did you bring me here?”

The Master made a tutting sound, like he was scolding a child. “In good time, Brigadier.”

Only now did Alistair notice the thin metal band around the Master’s head. No doubt whatever this was about had to do with that.

“Do you think you can be civil?”

“Oh, perfectly, as long as you are,” Alistair retorted.

“I suppose that’ll have to do.”

“Are you waiting for something?” He thought for a few seconds. “Am I a hostage?”

“Not exactly.”

“Don’t play games with me,” Alistair warned.

The Master sighed, and turned around. “Very well. I’d rather not have this break down prematurely.” He spun back to his captive. “You’re going to help me.”

“Now I know you’re mad,” the Brigadier snorted. “Not that I had any doubts before.”

Something on the Master emitted a beeping sound. “Ah, that’ll be him. I tell him I have his precious Brigadier, and he immediately comes running, no doubt with more of your soldiers in tow. He truly does… appreciate you.”

Alistair ignored that hint of bitterness in the other man’s tone. “He’d hardly pass up the chance to catch you.”

With no warning, the Master seized the lapels of Alistair’s uniform jacket and forcefully backed him up against the nearest wall. Alistiair tried to fight back, but found that he couldn't. He was trapped, glaring at the other man. He again tried to raise his arms to shove him away, but again they only lifted a few inches.

The Master smiled predatorily. “You’re rather perfect for this little experiment. Other than the Doctor, you’re the most obstinate person I know on this planet.”

Alistair managed to fight through whatever was controlling his body enough to push himself off the wall, but not enough to push the Timelord away from him.

Then the Master let go of him and turned around. “Come along, let’s go meet with him.”

Alistair willed his body to attack the man, tackle him to the ground, anything. But all he could do was stand there. Then, after several seconds, he decided to simply follow him.

The Master led Alistair out of the warehouse and towards a locked gate. They could see the Doctor, Captain Yates, Sergeant Benton, and a few other soldiers on the other side, discussing something.

“I wouldn’t try to do anything to that gate,” the Master called out to them. “I’ve left a few traps.”

“Nasty, no doubt,” the Doctor responded.

“Sir, are you alright?” Yates asked.

“I’m unharmed,” Alistair reported. When they were within conversational distance, his feet took two more steps before they halted. He couldn't make them go any further.

“Alright, you’ve got my attention,” the Doctor said to the Master. “Does it have something to do with that new piece of headgear? Or are you simply trying a new fashion?”

“Doctor, it’s… he’s got some sort of hold over me,” Alistair answered.

“I’ve been hard at work, Doctor, and I wanted to show you. What better subject to use? Now…” The Master turned with a flourish to face Alistair. “Show them that I’m your Master, Brigadier.”

“What?” came the surprised responses from the others. But the Doctor glared at the other Timelord.

Alistair’s hands clenched tightly as he tried to fight against his body’s urge to go down to his knees. His legs trembled with the effort.

“On your knees, Brigadier,” the Master directly commanded.

“I will… not…” Alistair gritted his teeth.

“That’s enough,” the Doctor protested. He flung out his arm to stop Yates from trying to force open the gate.

But Alistair couldn't stop it, and felt a wave of shame wash over him as he fell to his knees in front of the Master. If this had happened in the privacy of the warehouse, it would’ve been a bad enough strike to his pride. But for not only the Doctor, but also his men, to see this submission… “This doesn’t mean anything,” he growled.

“No, no of course not,” the Master replied in a falsely soothing tone. He took a step towards the man, and lifted his hand.

Alistair raised his arms to try to push the Master away, but like before, they only lifted a short distance before stopping.

“Stop that. You won’t get far.” The Master then made physical contact, his black-gloved hand settling on Alistair’s head.

Alistair shook his head, but the Master’s hand stayed there. He willed his legs to get up, his body to somehow move away enough, and still nothing happened, no matter how hard he thought about doing it. Then the Master’s hand did the unthinkable. It began to pet over his hair, and the fingers separated to stroke through it. “Stop, right this instant,” Alistair verbally protested. He kept his gaze on the offending Timelord. He didn’t want to look to his men, didn’t want to see what they thought of this.

The Master ignored it, and looked to the Doctor. “What do you think? I can tame him.”

“I thought you could already do that with people,” the Doctor responded, sounding unimpressed.

“Oh, but that’s different. Hypnotism is all well and good, but sometimes different methods are needed. One should never have only one method in such matters.” The Master’s gaze returned to his captive and he continued petting through the dark hair. He grinned, and his other hand came up to rest on Alistair’s cheek.

“Doctor…” Benton prompted, impatient with the situation.

“What do you think, Brigadier? Is it effective?” the Master asked. His thumb brushed across the bridge of the other man’s nose.

Alistair shivered, but didn’t answer, not wanting to give him any satisfaction. Even with knowing none of this was consensual, that he wasn’t in control, it didn’t stop his personal shame. Maybe if he’d been more vigilant, he wouldn’t have been caught in the first place, and subjected to this humiliation.

“What do you want?” the Doctor asked.

“Only to show you a demonstration.”

“I’ve seen enough. Now if you would kindly release him from-”

“Release him?” the Master laughed. His hand stilled in Aiistair’s hair. “We still have some… wrinkles to work out. I’ll let you know when I want to see you again. Now go on back to your HQ.” Unnecessarily, he tightened his grip on Alistair’s hair and yanked upwards. “Come along, Brigadier.”

That made Alistair felt like some sort of dog. Once he was standing, the Master let him go, and turned away from the Doctor and soldiers. Alistair again followed not of his own accord.

“Doctor, we’re not just going to let them go, are we?” Yates asked.

“That’s precisely what we’re going to do, Captain,” the Doctor answered.

“Listen to the Doctor,” Alistair advised. If anyone could get him out of this, he would.

“Maybe I’ll film our little training sessions and send those to you,” the Master taunted to the other Timelord as he and Alistair continued walking back to the warehouse.

Alistair shuddered at the thought of the humiliation to come being recorded.


	26. Abandoned- Sixth Doctor, Peri

He’d abandoned her. What other explanation could there be for her having spent three days in this dungeon? He would’ve come for her by now. If he’d been in trouble himself, he would’ve found a way out by now.

Peri let out a tiny sob at the conclusion. The Doctor had left her. Didn’t he care about her? He’d said it before, acted like it before. Sometimes he would be in tetchy moods, but despite that, she knew he cared for her. She knew it with all her heart.

But this was proving her wrong. Did he secretly hate her? Secretly want her gone, and this was the best opportunity he had to get rid of her? But if that were so, there many other times he could’ve done this. Could’ve abandoned her, let her die, or whatever other horrible fate.

Why now? Had she done something wrong? Had she offended him somehow? Had this been building up over their time together?

“Doctor?” Peri called out in a tiny voice in the otherwise silent cell. “Doctor, please… You wouldn’t leave me, would you? Not really, yeah?” She felt the sting of tears in her eyes. “Don’t leave me… don’t leave me, please…”

She’d abandoned him. What other explanation could there be for him languishing in this dungeon for three days? Surely she had gotten away? He’d done everything he could’ve to make certain she was safe. She was resourceful. At the very least, there would’ve been some sign that she was trying to help him. He had no doubt in her resourcefulness.

Did she harbour a hatred for him? One that would make her leave him when they weren't even on Earth? Had he done something, said something that had offended her so badly? He knew he had said and done some… questionable things in regards to her, especially soon after he had regenerated. But they had settled into a good friendship since that unfortunate time.

He liked having her around. Perhaps he didn’t always act like it, but he did try. He needed a friend like her, and now it seemed he had lost her.

The Doctor let out a heavy breath as he drew his legs up onto the cot and huddled over them. “Peri… I’m sorry. Don’t leave me?” He cleared his throat, and stared at the opposite wall, a wall he now knew every detail of. “Don’t abandon me, please…”


	27. Ransom- Third Doctor

“How much do you think they’ll pay for him?”

“He’s supposed to be a special military contractor, right? Though he doesn't really look it... Probably a lot.”

“I need a number.”

The Doctor listened to the discussion, and also tried to get his hands out of the cuffs behind him. He was certainly more successful at one than the other. “May I suggest simply letting me go and turning yourselves in?” he interrupted after a minute.

“Excuse us?” one of the men said, turning to him.

“You’re trying to use me as ransom against the British army. I have high doubts that’ll work out for you.”

“Oh, shut it.”

The Doctor’s head snapped to the side at the hard backhand across his face. He grimaced as he returned his head to its original position. “That was not necessary.”

“And neither are your smart remarks.”

“I’m simply informing you that the military doesn’t respond to ransom demands well.”

“If you’re important to them, they will.”

“Or what?”

“Or they just might be fishing you out of a river soon.”

The Doctor sighed. “Ah, I see.” he leaned back in the chair a little. “Far from the first death threat I’ve received.”

“Piss a lot of people off, do you?”

“I wouldn’t use quite that word, but-” A straight punch to the Doctor’s jaw had him cry out in pain.

“How much can I beat him up before we make our demands?”

The Doctor thought through his predicament. How much would the British Army be willing to pay for his safety, if it came down to it? Being with UNIT already made that a precarious prospect. And he knew, from Alistair telling him, that those of his superiors who did know about his position didn’t exactly favour him.

He had no doubts that Alistair himself would do whatever he could to get him back, even if it meant camping out in Geneva HQ’s office until they gave in. He allowed himself a tiny smile at the conjured image of at the Brigadier in a tent in the middle of those offices.

“Think that’s funny, do you?”

The Doctor was brought back to reality by another fist, this time to his nose. The man served another three punches before he was told to stop.

“Smile for the camera.”

The Doctor blinked at the sudden flash in his face as they got a few shots of proof that they did have him. He really hoped there would be no bureaucratic red tape delaying his rescue, paid or otherwise.


	28. Beaten- John Benton

Benton struggled as two aliens practically dragged him by one arm and leg behind them across the ground. His hand tried to grip at anything it could to stop, but he couldn't find any purchase. The awkward positioning meant he couldn’t hit or kick them, either.

They dragged him inside a spaceship, and he could only watch as the door slid closed behind them. 

“Commander,” one of them said as they stopped in a large room. “Look what we found sneaking around nearby.”

The instant the aliens released his limbs, Benton shot up to his feet.

The commander, with her large eyes, red-and-brown mottled skin, and short mohawk of red hair, stepped forward from the main console and looked Benton up and down, her face unexpressive. “One of the sentient inhabitants of this world.”

Benton didn’t respond, and was grateful he’d been able to radio in his position right before he had been disarmed and captured. Someone would figure out what had happened.

“You may speak,” the commander prompted.

“I was scouting around for anything unusual in the area,” Benton answered truthfully.

“I suppose you’ve found it, then.” She tilted her head. “Which makes you a risk factor.”

That was all the warning Benton got before she stepped in close and served a hard palm strike to the center of his chest. It knocked him back, nearly off his feet. He steadied himself only to receive a strike to his throat.

Benton stumbled back again, coughing through the pain. A sharp elbow to his chest came next, and a knee to his stomach quickly followed, leaving him doubled over and breathless. “I-I’m not armed,” he stated through another cough.

That didn’t seem to matter to the commander, and she kicked his knee, forcing him down to the other. Benton got his hands up to protect his face against the next few punches. But a savage kick got through, catching the side of his head. He keeled over to the floor, dazed.

She pressed her advantage, kicking the sergeant in the midsection several times. He protectively curled in on himself, and she simply moved to stomping down on his side and kicking his back.

Benton knew he couldn’t escape even if he could fight her off or if she stopped. There were too many of them around. All he could do was try to protect himself as best he could.

Finally, the onslaught stopped, and Benton lifted his head after several seconds. That turned out to be a mistake, and he cried out at the kick to his face, the toe catching the outside of one eye. He turned over onto his other side and clutched at the newest pain. A wave of nausea rolled through him.

The commander stepped over Benton to crouch in front of him. “Are you one of your race’s warriors?”

Benton groaned, but didn't answer.

“You’re not very impressive, if you are.”

“Hardly a… a fair fight,” Benton retorted through a heavy breath. He snorted, and saw a small spray of blood land on the floor.

The commander considered him for several more seconds, then nudged Benton over onto his back. Benton resisted, and she kicked him in the stomach to make him comply.

Benton tried to turn over onto his other side to escape any immediate abuse, but the instant he was on his back, the commander pounced on him, straddling his waist and pinning his wrists to the floor.

“I’m certain you will prove useful.”

Benton kicked out, tried to push up against her, do anything to get out of this. But the abuse had weakened and dazed him. When she let go of his wrists, he instinctively brought his arms over his face, just in time to block a punch.

But the commander was relentless, and rained down blows on him until she got through his defense. Blood spurted from Benton’s nose and trickled from his mouth. He couldn't turn away enough, couldn't get his arms back up enough.

The beating ended with a chop to his throat, and the commander got off Benton.

Benton rolled over onto his side and curled up again. Protecting his abused face, throat, and chest as much as possible. Blood flowed from his nose and trickled from his mouth, pooling around his cheek. He could feel one eye swelling, and squeezed them both shut.

“Take him to a cell. And keep a lookout for more. No doubt his disappearance will bring more to us.”

Two aliens grabbed him by the ankles and dragged him out of the room. Benton couldn’t put up any struggle, this time.


	29. Numb- Tegan, Fifth Doctor

Tegan stared ahead at the Doctor and Turlough standing in front of the Tardis. She felt so… she couldn't quite put a word to it. Upset, hurt… No... Numb, maybe? She settled on that. It felt like a strange sort of numbness in her chest. One that had also somehow spread into her mind.

“Come along,” the Doctor invited, turning to the Tardis.

“I’m not coming with you,” Tegan stated, making the decision quickly.

The Doctor quickly looked to her. “I beg your pardon?”

And now she understood where the numbness had come from. “I’m tired of it.” How could she continue on with this? With another instance of- “A lot of good people have died today. I think I’m sick of it.” They had helped to save the day, again, yes, but if she felt like this afterwards, if she knew good people who had died, always seemed to die despite her best efforts…

“You think I wanted it this way?”

Tegan knew he didn’t, knew he never did. She knew how happy he would be if things didn’t tend to go this way during their more harrowing trips. “No, it’s just… I don’t think I can go on.” Not it this numbness within her would continue, get stronger, grow, until… until what? She didn’t know, and she didn’t want to find out.

“You want to stay on Earth.”

She fought back the coming tears. “My Aunt Vanessa said-” Tegan swallowed. She’d died, too, when she’d first met the Doctor, back when he was a tall brunette with a long scarf. “When I became an air stewardess, ‘if you stop enjoying it, give it up.’” This was a sign that she had stopped enjoying it. It had to be.

“Tegan-”

“It’s stopped being fun, Doctor.” She stuck out her hand. “Goodbye, Turlough. I’ll miss you both.”

The Doctor’s sad expression nearly made her change her mind. “No, no, don't leave. Not like this.”

She was tempted to give him another chance, but how many more could she give if the next one went wrong? When would she be back on Earth close enough to when she had left? “I must. I’m sorry.” She had to, for her own good. He’d shown her so much, taught her so much, but what good was it all if she couldn't feel anything except this painful numbness after? “Goodbye.”

She couldn’t stand to see the Timelord’s face now, and turned and ran away from him. Out of the room and around the corner where she could finally cry.

It had been bad enough when Nyssa had left them, left her to stay on Terminus. She wondered if Nyssa had begun to feel the same way, with her more sensitive soul. She couldn’t imagine her feeling numb like this. But if she had stayed longer…

“I wish you’d stayed,” Tegan said to the empty dusty air. “So we could’ve left together?” She wiped at her wet eyes. “I miss you, Nyssa…”

Tegan stiffened at the sound of the Tardis dematerializing. She hurried back to that room, and leaned sideways against a support beam. “Brave heart, Tegan. Doctor… I will miss you.”

She stared at where the time-space ship had been for several long minutes, the numbness in her mind and chest slowly ebbing, until she finally broke away to leave the warehouse. She hoped it wouldn’t last much longer.


	30. Recovery- Seventh Doctor, Ace

The Doctor groaned as he unconsciously tried to turn over in the bed. Ace quickly got up from her chair beside him to stop him. “No, that’s the really bad side,” she gently reminded, even though she knew he probably couldn't hear her. “I know it’s not the most comfortable, but stay on your back,” she encouraged.

He had been caught in a bad explosion and been buried under a lot of rubble. They found him, but he’d needed medical attention right away. So now, several hours later, here he was in a hospital with Ace looking after him.

The Timelord had a few broken bones, and a severe concussion, and Ace allowed a tiny smile for herself at how impatient she knew he would be with the recovery process. Bedrest for a couple days at least.

The Doctor woke a few hours later, as Ace was eating dinner. The girl pressed the nurse call button before leaning over to greet him. “Hey, Professor.”

The man’s eyes slowly opened, and blinked heavily. “He… hello…”

“You had a right nasty time of it,” Ace informed. As the Timelord groggily glanced around, she added, “It’ll take you a while to get back on your feet.”

“You… alright?”

“Me? I wasn’t anywhere near it.”

The Doctor shifted again to turn over, and Ace gently pushed him back. A nurse came in a moment later.

The recovery was taking longer than the couple days Ace had thought it might, but she didn’t mind, not if the Doctor was safe and being looked after by professionals. She was more accepting of it than he was, certainly, but at least he was cooperating. If only barely and only because she asked him to.

He was itching to get back to the Tardis, and Ace wanted to return to their home as well. But for now, he was being a model patient. Ace chuckled at the thought of the Doctor being a terrible one. No doubt he would’ve attempted sneaking out if she wasn’t there.

Ace could tell he was in a lot of pain, no matter how he tried to cover it up with his enigmatic smiles.

But he was getting better, and that was what mattered, no matter how annoyed he was. It wasn’t hard to keep themselves occupied, with the Doctor telling Ace stories and teaching her things while they waited for his body to recover.


	31. Embrace- Third Doctor, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart

The Doctor tried to put himself into yet another meditative trance to pass the time without needing to breathe as often. He’d been stuck down here in this small mining cave for several days now. Five, to be exact. He didn’t have any food or water with him when the connecting tunnel had collapsed and blocked his way back out.

His stomach growled, and his throat had no problem letting him know how parched it was. The air had also begun to get stale a couple days ago. He knew Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart was out there, trying to get to him with a rescue team. Hopefully it wouldn’t be long now.

The radio on the ground next to the Timelord crackled. “Doctor? Doctor, are you there?”

The Doctor sighed as his light trance was broken. “Yes, I’m here, Brigadier. Still alive, for whenever you come.”

“We’re working on it, the fastest we can.”

“Get a move on, would you? I’d rather not perish in here.” The Doctor knew he wasn’t being fair, knew they were doing all they could on the outside, but his patience was wearing thin, along with the air.

“We’ll have you out soon, they say.”

“I’ll hold you to that. Over.” The Doctor set the radio back down and closed his eyes. He really didn’t want this life to end by starving, dehydrating, and asphyxiating in some cave.

Several hours later, the rescue team finally did break through. The Doctor picked up the radio, slipped it in his pocket, and got to his feet. He shrugged off the medics and rescue personnel who rushed at him with oxygen masks and blankets and the like. There was only one person he wanted to see right now.

“I can walk,” the Doctor said dismissively to the medic who tried to put his arm over his shoulders. His legs did feel weak and unsteady, and one was hurting badly from the heavy debris that had fallen on it, but he would admit that later.

He didn’t see Alistair here, so he figured he was still at the surface. He ignored the calls of, “Stop, we need to check you over, sir.”

The Doctor hurried up the tunnel, tripping and stumbling over the cleared debris on the way. But he kept moving forward, feeling a pressing need to see his friend now. He couldn’t explain why. Maybe the solitude of the cave had really done a number on him. He was grateful the rescue personnel had taken the hint and quit trying to stop or assist him.

Several minutes later, he emerged into the twilight. Alistair was only a few steps away.

“Doct-”

The Doctor practically collapsed into the other man’s arms in a tight embrace.

“Easy, now.” Alistair tightened his arms around the other man. “I’ve got you.” He showed a tiny smile at the sensation of the Doctor’s nose nuzzling slightly against his neck. He noticed the expressions on the rescue personnel, and said to the Timelord, “You didn't let them look you over, did you.”

The Doctor didn’t even shake his head, just clung onto Alistair tighter.

Alistair didn't verbally question the physical affection from the Doctor. It was uncharacteristic for him to show this with Alistair, especially around other people. But he did feel the Doctor’s legs buckle, and suggested, “Let’s go over to the trucks. They’re not far.”

The Doctor didn’t move, content where he was. Alistair signaled with his head for everyone else to give them space. “Or not,” he said into the Doctor’s ear. He didn’t complain that he was now holding up more of the Timelord’s weight.

Alistair closed his eyes, feeling the other man’s fingertips digging into his back. “I’ve got you,” he assured quietly.


End file.
